He keeps the base simple: win the ball, keep it, penetrate, score, and if you lose it, win it back. The balance between possession and penetration is what coaches get wrong, since a possession pass can go forward as well as square. Set plays decide a lot under current rules, and he points to Atlanta 1996, where constant interchange and ice vests let Australia play at a tempo nobody thought possible in that heat. Watch the full masterclass: Building winning teams.
India’s squad trained on longer than most because the players were already centralised in one location, but once the Prime Minister locked the country down they withdrew to their rooms and apartments like everyone else. Reid describes the task plainly: finding different ways of maintaining fitness, sanity and positivity until the pitches open again. Watch the full masterclass: Field Hockey Tactics, Trust and Team Dynamics: Insights from Indian Men’s Coach Graham Reid.
Lockdown cut a squad used to full-time contact down to one on one calls, but McLeod’s players kept their programme running: sponsors supplied basic home gyms and the group followed a strict running plan. With little hockey to load them, the staff used the window to develop speed and agility, and the extra year simply shifted the group’s focus to Tokyo in 2021. Watch the full masterclass: AMA with Shane McLeod.